An Ceann Comhairle: There are just three proposed amendments, only one of which, No. 2 in the name of Deputy Cullinane, is in order.

Amendment No. 1 not moved.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move amendment No. 2:

In page 6, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following:

“Report on De-Nicotinisation and Smoking Cessation Supports

12. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, conduct a review, to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas within 12 months of the passing of this Act, to examine and propose measures regarding gradual reductions in the nicotine content of tobacco products, expanding smoking cessation supports, and a targeted campaign for the reduction in smoking rates among young people.”.

This is an amendment on de-nicotinisation. Essentially, the aim is to consider legislating for gradual reductions to the nicotine content of tobacco products. This is a sensible option because it is aimed at all smokers, not just young or potentially new smokers. Our amendment would require the Minister for Health in the next government to carry out a review of this option and report to the Oireachtas within a year of the passing of this legislation. The office of consumption-related harm reduction, as proposed by Sinn Féin, would advise in this area.

Dara Calleary, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, set out to Deputy Cullinane on Committee Stage that the de-nicotinisation of tobacco products is only one of multiple endgame measures that will be considered as the next steps in the elimination of tobacco smoking in our country. It is well recognised that success in addressing public health problems such as tobacco consumption entails multiple evidence-based interventions in order to affect usage and that no single measure is effective on its own. As our next national tobacco control policy is being developed, consideration will be given to product-focused measures, institution- or structure-focused measures, user-focused measures and supply-related measures. I see no reason to limit consideration to de-nicotinisation alone, which would be a consequence of Deputy Cullinane’s amendment.

On the proposed review of smoking-cessation supports, we are not just continuing to review such supports. The Minister has expanded them. In 2017, funding for the HSE Tobacco Free Ireland programme was €11.8 million. By 2021, that had risen to €13.2 million, and by 2023 it had risen to €17 million. As a result of those increases, in 2022 an additional 44 stop-smoking advisers were hired, increasing the number of clinics by 100%. In 2023, the HSE rolled out free nicotine-replacement therapy for everyone accessing its smoking-cessation services. As part of budget 2024, an additional €1.1 million was secured by the Minister for the free nicotine replacement therapy scheme, and he is maintaining that in 2025.

An Ceann Comhairle: Is the Minister of State accepting the amendment?

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